IT wasn’t the weather for wearing thongs but a team of charity fundraisers from Didcot braved the cold to raise money for bereaved children.

Ten members of the Thong Rangers running team and Thong Rangerette Carla Howes collected about £1,000 from drivers and passers-by during a 16-mile run.

The fundraisers ran to Abingdon via Steventon and Drayton on Saturday and, after a tour of the town, returned to Didcot via Culham Road, Sutton Courtenay and Appleford. Proceeds from the five-and-a-half hour effort will go to SeeSaw, the Oxford charity which supports bereaved children and their families.

Organiser Clifford Oakes, 47, front, left, a binman from Park Road, Didcot, said: “It wasn’t far off freezing, because there was such a cold wind but I think that worked in our favour when it came to the number of donations we took.

“People were so surprised to see us in our thongs in such cold weather that they wanted to stop and give money to such a good cause.”

SeeSaw spokesman Jane Elliott, front, right, said: “It was a tremendous effort by the Thong Rangers, because of the cold on the day.

“They looked frozen but they were still smiling and I think it’s fantastic that they gave up their spare time to raise money for a children’s charity like ours.”

Picture: Andrew Walmsley